Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

My son (5 years old) has been obsessed with lizards almost since birth. He loves them more than anything. We have had several very small lizards, I'm not sure what the proper names for them are (they're little green lizards that are usually running all over our porch at home), but I always end up letting them go after Lucas is asleep because they're so small and fast that I know they'll get away from him and probably end up as cat food. We're in New Mexico on business and my husband happened to bring a lizard home to show our son. The lizard seemed the perfect size and pretty laid back, so I thought we might keep it. However, after looking it up online, it turns out to be a Texas Horned Lizard.

Caring for this lizard isn't really the issue...we would do anything possible to keep it healthy (Lucas is completely in love), but I'm not sure if we would be allowed to take it home. I've read that the Texas Horned Lizard is a "protected" lizard...but I'm not sure what that means for us. Our home is actually in East Texas. Are we allowed to take this lizard home with us since we didn't catch it in Texas? Or are we not allowed to keep one at all in our state? If anyone can let me know asap, I would really appreciate it. It will break Lucas' heart to have to let this critter (Spike, he's been named) go, but it would upset him more if we kept him for a few months and then had to leave him here when we go back home.

Thanks in advance!

K.H.

Hello, K.H.

I am unsure about the legal status of Texas Horned Lizards (THL for short) in New Mexico, but I do know that they are protected in Texas. Read: You can not keep one that you found in Texas. My advice is to check with your local DNR or DFG as to legality. You can find out what to do next from there.

Tell us how it turns out. Good luck,

-Phil

Even if the THL is legal to capture in NM, you can not take it back to a state where it is natively protected. If you capture it legally (which usually requires a hunting or fishing license) you can only keep it in a state where it is not protected.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You should probably return it as soon as possible to the wild, as close as you can to where it was captured. If it has been mixed with other reptiles you should probably not return it as it may carry a disease to wild populations.
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2 Kings 6:15-17

Before releasing it, you may want to double check your identification. New Mexico has at least 2 other species of horned lizard, including the desert horned lizard (at lower elevations) and the mountain short horned lizard (at higher elevations).